Shibui
Imperial Masterpiece
Mid summer down here and I'm just potting up some shimpaku layers.
I started growing twisted junipers after talking to a friend who had worked in Japanese bonsai nurseries. Rather than growing straight, uninteresting trunks they were developing strongly bent and twisted trunks in lieu of being able to collect mountain stock.
Initially I was striking small cuttings then waiting a couple of years for them to grow before wiring and twisting. That approach had a number of drawbacks.
Then I discovered I could strike long thin cuttings and bypass the first growing bit. Saves a couple of years but I was still potting up the straight cuttings and waiting for them to settle into the pots before wiring and bending. Still not satisfied with the bends, especially down low on the trunks so I began wiring the rooted cuttings as I potted them on. Much better bends down low as the wire can be applied right from the roots and make bends closer to the base.
Still a couple of drawbacks. Cuttings can take a year or more to root sometimes and if I bend a little too far trunk snaps and I've lost that one which is a waste of a year or more growing and resources needed to strike cuttings.
Then I hit on this latest idea. Wire and bend long shoots on the stock plants. They grow faster with all the roots and energy from the large parent plant. Twisted shoots thicken to 1 cm in a year or 2. If I'm a bit careless while bending nothing but a bit of wire and a few minutes lost and there's plenty more shoots waiting. I can even wire and bend again after a year if I want more bends or longer trunk.
Now when I'm happy with the shape and size I can layer it off the parent in just a few weeks.
Layers on the stock tree
A week after setting the layers in early spring I needed to prune some long branches back. One of those branches also had a layer at the tip - Bugger!
Knowing that callus forms quick on a layer and that callus is the first step of root formation - layers or cuttings - I decided to move the layer to the cutting bed even though it had no roots at all. Chances were good of keeping it alive and getting a result.
A few weeks later roots have formed and I moved it outdoors to the nursery bench. A couple of weeks later roots showing at the base of the pot so time to pot up.
The small pots turned out to be a small problem as they are hard to keep watered through hot summer so I've elected to remove them at the first sign of roots then transfer to the cutting bed with auto misting for a couple of weeks. It is amazing how quick roots can grow when the plant needs to.
This pic just 10 days after removing from the parent. Roots already showing.
Pot into a larger pot to maintain growth and make watering easier.
I started growing twisted junipers after talking to a friend who had worked in Japanese bonsai nurseries. Rather than growing straight, uninteresting trunks they were developing strongly bent and twisted trunks in lieu of being able to collect mountain stock.
Initially I was striking small cuttings then waiting a couple of years for them to grow before wiring and twisting. That approach had a number of drawbacks.
Then I discovered I could strike long thin cuttings and bypass the first growing bit. Saves a couple of years but I was still potting up the straight cuttings and waiting for them to settle into the pots before wiring and bending. Still not satisfied with the bends, especially down low on the trunks so I began wiring the rooted cuttings as I potted them on. Much better bends down low as the wire can be applied right from the roots and make bends closer to the base.
Still a couple of drawbacks. Cuttings can take a year or more to root sometimes and if I bend a little too far trunk snaps and I've lost that one which is a waste of a year or more growing and resources needed to strike cuttings.
Then I hit on this latest idea. Wire and bend long shoots on the stock plants. They grow faster with all the roots and energy from the large parent plant. Twisted shoots thicken to 1 cm in a year or 2. If I'm a bit careless while bending nothing but a bit of wire and a few minutes lost and there's plenty more shoots waiting. I can even wire and bend again after a year if I want more bends or longer trunk.
Now when I'm happy with the shape and size I can layer it off the parent in just a few weeks.
Layers on the stock tree
A week after setting the layers in early spring I needed to prune some long branches back. One of those branches also had a layer at the tip - Bugger!
Knowing that callus forms quick on a layer and that callus is the first step of root formation - layers or cuttings - I decided to move the layer to the cutting bed even though it had no roots at all. Chances were good of keeping it alive and getting a result.
A few weeks later roots have formed and I moved it outdoors to the nursery bench. A couple of weeks later roots showing at the base of the pot so time to pot up.
The small pots turned out to be a small problem as they are hard to keep watered through hot summer so I've elected to remove them at the first sign of roots then transfer to the cutting bed with auto misting for a couple of weeks. It is amazing how quick roots can grow when the plant needs to.
This pic just 10 days after removing from the parent. Roots already showing.
Pot into a larger pot to maintain growth and make watering easier.
